Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said Democrats hope to persuade a few moderate Republicans to break with the GOP on key issues such as Medicaid and education funding in the final days of the budget debate.

One possible option is getting several Republican senators to agree to a trial period of one year where the state would accept the federal government's offer of funding to cover low-income residents under Medicaid.

Larson called it a "reasonable compromise" and said Democrats will propose such an amendment in the next week or so.

In a meeting with reporters and editors of the Journal Sentinel, Larson said the Republicans' slim 18-15 majority in the Senate — and the concern about parts of the budget from some Senate Republicans — gives Democrats some leverage in the upcoming debate.

Republicans control the governor's office, the Senate and the Assembly.

Larson also assailed Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans on an array of issues, including:

■ Wisconsin's performance on job growth, compared with other states.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently ranked Wisconsin 44th in overall economic performance, although Walker has touted figures from the Department of Workforce Development showing the state gained 62,072 private-sector jobs between December 2010 and December 2012.

■ Walker's management of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the troubled agency that provides funding incentives to companies.

The agency was the subject of a critical state audit that said it failed last year to follow basic standards in state law for tracking taxpayer funds.

■ Republican legislators' support this week of an abortion bill that requires an ultrasound before the procedure — a bill Larson said is "not just insulting to women, it's demeaning to women," and assumes they are unable to make a decision on an unwanted pregnancy on their own.

Larson said the vote on the abortion bill during a chaotic session on Wednesday "casts a dark shadow" over the upcoming debate on the 2013-'15 budget, with Republicans and Democrats finding little to agree on.

But on a key issue of health care, Larson was optimistic Democrats could stall Walker's plan to pass up federal funding to cover 84,700 additional people under Medicaid. The governor instead would move tens of thousands of residents above the federal poverty level from Medicaid coverage to federal insurance exchanges.

The exchanges will offer private coverage to the uninsured and will provide for federal subsidies to defray the cost of health insurance.

Walker, an opponent of the federal health care law, has expressed concern that promised federal funding in future years will evaporate.

Among Republicans, Sen. Dale Schultz of Richland Center has expressed strong reservations about the GOP budget.

If Schultz were to vote against the budget, Democrats would need just a single vote from another Republican to block Walker's plan on health care and efforts to expand Wisconsin's voucher program statewide. Vouchers provide public funding for private schools.

Larson said some Republicans, including Sen. Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls, have raised questions about some Walker initiatives on the issue of Medicaid.

Moulton told the Wisconsin Reporter that GOP senators are debating whether the state should reject federal funding and he said Wisconsin has a "financial advantage" in taking the money.

On other matters, Larson said, it was premature for Democrats to jump into a gubernatorial run against Walker in 2014. He expects candidates from his party to enter the race later this year, or in early 2014.

Larson declined to discuss his own political ambitions.

The Milwaukee senator also said he didn't see a strong appetite among Democratic senators to support an Assembly-passed bill that would raise campaign donor limits for legislative and statewide offices.